You're Gonna Go Far Kid
by Leapingspirit
Summary: Uh... you may or may not want to go read at least part of my other story 'Starlight' cause this is a side story of that. I tried to include the actual character more than my OC but I dunno if I managed. A bit of Kyouru fluff at the end. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

You're Gonna Go Far Kid

_**Okie dokie. This is the story about Kyo's past that I mentioned in the latest chapter of Starlight. If you're not reading cause you heard it from that, this may be a small bit confusing. Not sure, I come up with this stuff as I type. Sad really. Anyway, this is kinda AU, and set right after Kyo's mom died. But he never met Kazuma (that's him right?). I also made things a bit harder for him (such as beatings from people who are afraid of the cat's original form) just to make it a bit more believable. The first part is sort of centered around Spirit so you can understand how much she actually cares about Kyo and how sadistic she gets when angered, then it may or may not flip over to Kyo. I'm also not sure whether or not it will be one or two parts. Depends on how long it ends up being. I think I'm rambling... on with the story!!**_

Spirit tugged at the black wristband that was snugly stuck to her left wrist. When ever a demon—for reasons even she didn't know—came to Japan, a black wristband with a silver picture of a hand above a Celtic looking roaring lion with a 'v' shape that had three three leaf clovers in it **(A/N: That's the Cullen crest for you who are into Twilight)** appeared on its left wrist. It identified them to humans who knew what the symbol looked like, and made things harder for them to lead a normal life. There was also no way to take it off.

Today she had been doing a lot of running to keep her energy levels up, seeing as Japan was relatively peaceful thanks to the Demon Crest, which is what the symbol was known as. But it was a nice place to visit to get away from the frantic life she normally lived in America or some other country. If she found the right town. Anyway, because she was running a lot, sweat had gotten under the wrist band, making it itchy. And she hated it.

Sighing, she folded her hands behind her back, hiding the crest from any prying human eyes. Today, or this evening rather, she was visiting the Souhmas, a local; and very large; family that were cursed with the twelve, or thirteen if you counted the cat, animal spirits of the zodiac. She knew their secret, and had to check on the head of the family now and then to make sure that he—_she; _Spirit corrected herself—hadn't cracked. To put it simply, Akito had made a deal with the devil and several times said devil had come close to collecting. Entering the 'outside' of the Souhma grounds she quickly made her way to the inner part, not looking forward to the shouting and maniacal screams that were sure to follow.

Her ears pricked suddenly, and she slowed to a halt, listening intently. Narrowing her cold gray-blue eyes, holding her head at an angle, she could faintly hear stifled sobs and a mantra of 'its not my fault' coming from behind one of the smaller buildings on the 'outside'. Following the voice, she jumped up into a tree to get a better view. She tried hard to keep her normal calm visage when she saw a small orange haired boy, only about eight years old, crouched on the ground in the back yard of the house. Furrowing her eyebrows, she thought about why he was crying, and was hesitant to approach him. That's when she saw the red and white beads around his wrist.

_So he's the cat eh? Wonder what happened? _She thought with a sad tinge to her thoughts. She wasn't sure whether the one cursed by the spirit of the cat would like being approached by a demon, seeing as the whole Souhma family was familiar with the Demon Crest, and she couldn't keep it hidden forever. Resisting the temptation to bang her forehead against the trunk of the tree she was perched in, Spirit decided to wait a while to see if he said anything else.

After around half an hour, she was starting to lose her patience. Tapping her slightly clawed hand against the rough branch she leaned on her other hand, which was against one of her knees. She perked up however when a man approached him. She could see in his frame that he must have been the kid's father, but his face was anything but loving or sympathetic. If anything it was filled with utter hatred, and the desire to be rid of him once and for all.

Spirit stiffened and stifled a snarl when the man kicked the child in the side, sending him sprawling on the ground. He continued to kick him for a while, and raised his fisted hand, about to punch him. That's when Spirit couldn't stand it anymore. She leaped down from the tree and appeared in front of the man, holding his arm firmly with her left hand, the Demon Crest close to his face so he knew what he was dealing with.

"Move a single muscle, make a single sound, touch the kid again, and I will make you suffer." she snarled, with a deep rumble to her voice. Her pupils had contracted to nothing but cat-like slits in her rage, but she managed to smother most of it and keep her thoughts coherent and to keep from killing the bastard.

He started shaking in his fear, and attempted to look Spirit in the eyes, but was too scared. Her expression was a mixture of beastly rage and something that only those who had been in the bloodiest of wars, or who had been a true parent to their children would recognize. The deep desire to protect who and what needed to be protected. He cried out sharply when she dug her nails into his wrist, her lips pulled back into a furious snarl, showing elongated canines which; if her mouth were closed fully; would have stuck out over her bottom lip. He tried to pull away, but she didn't even budge.

"W-Who a-a-are you t-to tell me what t-to do?" he stammered in a slightly squeaky voice. He had yet to notice the Demon Crest, even though the silver fabric of the symbol flashed in the afternoon sun.

Spirit smirked, sending shivers down his spine. She drank in the scent of his fear and her smirk grew. "A demon of the worst kind." she growled, cocking her free hand back, claws exposed, ready to slash as his stomach and disembowel him. He finally looked at her wrist and gulped, starting to try to pull away frantically, but it was in vain. She reveled in his hysterics, savoring every moment that she kept him prisoner, waiting for his death. But she wasn't going to give him that gift yet, oh no. She was going to let him simmer for a few years, waiting for the day to come, then she was going to make him suffer in the most horrible ways.

Flashing her free hand forward, she left deep but not deadly claw marks across his stomach and pushed him to the ground, standing on his chest. "If you so much as dare blame the kid for this, I'll return even sooner to kill you. But know this bastard, I will return. I hope you have your will written out by then, because I won't give you a chance to do so when I come back." she snarled, pushing down on his chest, hearing a couple ribs crack. Removing her foot, she turned to the kid, who was laying unconscious on the ground, blood on his lips from being kicked in the face and stomach.

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the main house.

_"Yes?" _came Akito's voice from the other line.

"I apologize Akito, but I'll have to come by some time next week. Something came up." she said shortly.

_"What kind of something?" _

"Something that doesn't concern you. At least not quite yet. If the time is right when I come by, I will tell you then."

There was a short pause before she heard a sigh, and Akito replied with a controlled edge of irritation to his—_her; _Spirit thought again—voice. _"Very well. I suppose you have a valid cause for skipping out on me."_

"Though I wouldn't put it those exact words, yes. I will speak to you again next week." she snapped the phone closed and bent over the boy. "What happened to you I wonder?" she whispered to herself running a hand through his orange hair. "Why were you crying?"

Picking him up, minding any damaged ribs, she cradled his small frame close to her body, knowing he wouldn't transform unless she wanted him to. The only perk to being a demon at the moment. Carrying him swiftly to the apartment she was renting in town, she swept the coffee table free of clutter and laid him there, removing his shirt. Wincing at the purple bruises that were all over his chest and stomach, she concentrated on the ancient words that her teacher had taught her, using the healing spell to repair any internal damage. Though healing spells weren't her strong suit, she was able to heal all of the damaged bones and organs from his father's beating, replacing his shirt and laying him on the couch. Retrieving a blanket from the linen closet beside her own bedroom door, she laid it over him carefully and trotted into the bathroom to wash the yuck off her hands from the kid's father.

_-Kyo-_

Kyo cracked open his crimson eyes and blinked at the unfamiliar surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in pain. His stomach and chest weren't throbbing like they had been when he passed out. The second thing was that he was comfortably warm. Shifting, he felt a soft blanket laying lightly on him, and the soft fabric of the comfortable couch bellow him. He could vaguely hear water running in another room he supposed, and took the opportunity to try to sit up.

In doing so, he felt no pain whatsoever. He knew that at least two of his ribs had been broken in his father's attack, and wondered why he wasn't hurting. _Am I dead? _He wondered, looking around. The room he was in was of a comfortable size with forest green walls and chocolate brown carpet. The furniture in it matched the walls and floors with greens, pale yellows, browns, and blacks. There was a large flat screen across from the couch, which had a coffee table—which was a glass panel supported by a tree-like stand—between them, and various book and CD shelves arranged neatly around the room. Glancing to his left he saw a large window with white blinds and light brown blinds, which were drawn, beside which was a brown painted door. To his right was a cream colored bar with neat stacks of paper, a radio, and a couple coffee cups sitting on it. Beyond that was a clean kitchen with elegant light blue trim work by the white ceiling. The wall was a pleasant gray and the floor was russet brown wood.

_Good lord I feel out of place. _He muttered to himself. Turning around, he saw a short hall with pale blue carpet and crimson walls with a few paintings and photos hanging on the walls. He could see a white door closed on the right side and two open doors on the left. Standing up, he crept cautiously into the hall, hearing running water behind the closed door. Peering into the first room, he saw that it was an obviously occupied bedroom. The bed had a somewhat thick leopard spotted quilt thrown messily onto crimson sheets. The bed frame looked antique, with peeling dark russet paint, but in a nostalgic way even to someone as young as Kyo. The carpet was also leopard spotted, whereas the walls were a deep red, and the ceiling was gold with a white ceiling fan. A dark auburn desk with a light auburn chair stood at the head of the bed, and a smaller flat screen was directly across from the bed. Next to it was a tan floor-to-ceiling shelf with various nick-knacks on the shelves, with drawers below. On the wall across from the door was a square window with gray blinds and russet shades, both of which were pulled up or to the side. At the foot of the bed was a cream colored closet door, the kind that bends outwards. Not wanting to invade any privacy more than he was already, he backed out of the room and moved to the next one.

It looked unoccupied, but had a small bed with navy blue sheets, which went well with the lighter blue walls and the deep green carpet. A small desk stood by the window which had white blinds that were pulled up, letting the evening sun into the room. Beside the desk was an empty set of shelves, which would house movies or something. A small set of drawers sat across from the bed next to the small flat screen, and like the other room, a folding door lead to an empty; in this case; closet.

Backing out of this room, he looked down the hall and saw another closed door. He tried this one, not hearing anything behind it, but found that it was locked. Kyo jolted some when he heard the water in the other closed room shut off and raced back to the couch quietly, huddling under the blanket, pretending to sleep. He heard some shuffling and the door opened a few painful minutes later. A small sigh escaped the mystery person and he heard another door close, opening another few minutes later. Quiet footsteps drew closer, and he tried not to jump when he felt a comfortably warm hand rest on his forehead.

"Well at least his temperature's normal. Wonder when he'll wake up though." said a somewhat deep female voice, with a slight and unplaceable accent. He heard the girl straighten up and the soft footsteps faded then grew louder as he supposed she went into the kitchen. Cracking his eyes opened, he got a glimpse at her back. She had silvery brown hair that was cut raggedly at the middle of her neck, and had somewhat pale skin. She was wearing a dark purple shirt that was slightly baggy, but Kyo could see that she was comfortably skinny, and had some slight muscle. She was also wearing baggy black jeans with a red belt that looked too loose to hold up her pants, but they weren't falling off her butt so he supposed she didn't care or did it on purpose.

He hastily closed his eyes again when she sat at the table, not facing him, but could probably see him out of her peripheral vision. Deciding to take a chance, he peeked open his eyes again, curious about the person who had most likely either found him or saved him. He couldn't see her whole face, which was a good thing, but he could see that she was very young looking, only about fourteen or fifteen. On her ear was a small indention, like something had taken a bite out of it, which something probably had. Her bangs hung down to just past her eyebrows. She had a strong neck, and broad looking shoulders, like she spent her spare time at a gym, but you had to look to notice. On her left wrist was a black wristband, but Kyo couldn't see if there was any design on it or not, and around her neck was a black cord with two silver dog tags and a gold star on it. That was all he could see from his position, if he wanted to get a closer look at the girl, he would have to get up, and face either harsh treatment or questioning.

"So kid why was your father being such a jerk?" she asked suddenly, not looking at him. Kyo slammed his eyes closed and heard her chuckle. "Don't think I don't know when I'm being examined kid." he opened his eyes and saw her looking at him with gray-blue eyes. They had a hint of icy resentment, but it was overpowered by curiosity and worry.

Sitting up, Kyo didn't make eye contact as she stood in front of him, but he could feel her staring at him in an analyzing and calculating way. "I-I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." he stammered, near inaudibly. The girl however didn't seem to have a problem hearing him and she chuckled again.

"Don't worry, the only ones who have caused me problems today are your father; I suppose that that's who he is; and Akito. I was supposed to check on the lunatic today, but I got... a bit sidetracked." she paused, and Kyo felt the couch dip as she sat down. "I heard you crying and saying 'its not my fault' when I was on my way to the main house. Why?"

Kyo stiffened and hugged himself, as if to protect himself from any physical assault. "My- My mother k-killed herself... everyone says it-its my fault. But its not! I- I would never do anything like that!" he finished quickly, unsuccessfully suppressing the stutter. Ordinarily he wouldn't tell anyone, but he felt that he owed this girl that much.

She didn't reply for what seemed like forever. Kyo jumped when he felt her place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know kid... you're the cat right?" his head shot up and he unintentionally met her gaze. For a brief second he felt like something was going through his memories, his life, but it left as soon as it appeared, so he shook it off as nothing. "I knew it. Those beads were the first indication I had." she lifted his hand, and inspected he rosary around his wrist carefully. Sighing softly, she peered at him through sad, and soft eyes. "Its not right for a child to be treated in such a way. Just because there's one thing different about you, you have to suffer all this torment." she smiled sadly at him and stood up abruptly, folding her hands behind her back quickly. "I tell you what! How about I blackmail Akito into letting you stay here until I have to leave. I know you don't know me, but you can trust me." she said with an excited edge to her voice.

Kyo blinked at the words 'blackmail' and 'Akito', wondering what she meant, but shrugged it off. He stood up as well and debated between extending his hand or bowing, but decided to shake hands with her, reaching out with his left hand. "I'm Souhma Kyo." he said with a smile. "I'd be glad to."

He noticed the girl hesitate, but she shrugged and reached out with her own left hand, giving him a good look at the wrist band on her wrist. His crimson eyes widened when he saw the demon crest glaring at him with the silver fabric, but he felt no hostility when she took his hand in her own, shaking it gently. "All my friends call me Spirit. You can too if you want." she said politely, withdrawing her hand swiftly, and replacing it behind her back.

Spirit winced to herself at Kyo's expression. It was a mix of fear and astonishment, and she waited expectantly for running and screaming, but it never came. He simply blinked up at her through his strange red eyes and smiled a true, happy smile. "Pleased to meet you Spirit." he said cheerfully. He thought for a moment before continuing thoughtfully. "You know, most stories that I hear about demons make them out to be bloodthirsty and cruel. You're not like that at all!" he sat on the couch and looked up at her.

Sitting as well, she let out a dry laugh. "Well, I've had practice with suppressing my kill drive, but when I get mad it gets harder. Like earlier, I wanted to kill your stupid father, but I didn't. Instead I left him to stew over the threat that I _would_ come back to get him one day." Spirit thought for a moment, leaning back. "I suppose you could say I'm one of the more civil demons... most of the time."

Looking at the clock on the wall above her calendar, she paled when she realized the date. Scratching her chest thoughtfully, she heaved a huge sigh and stood again. "Uh... I'm having a friend over tonight, and he can be a bit brash so don't be scared by him." she said sheepishly, trotting into the kitchen to boil some water. _Whether this is to throw on the bastard or to make tea with is yet to be decided._ she thought ruefully. The second she completed the thought, a tall black haired man burst through the door with an unusually large grin on his pale face. "Doesn't anyone knock anymore? Or is this a half-way house to you?!" she snapped, glaring at him, slamming her hands down on the bar.

The man laughed in a deep voice and smiled at her. "Oh relax Spirit! Don't you know how to have fun?"

"Damn it Damien!" she snarled, slamming the door closed, locking it securely. "You're not here for fun. Give me your status report and get the hell out!" Damien simply laughed and sat next to Kyo, who looked at him slightly scared. He looked at the child with kind, wise deep red eyes and ruffled his hair.

"Adopting kids now are you? You've gone soft Spirit! I'm surprised." he grinned at Kyo. "Don't let her get to you. She's a big softie." Spirit glowered at him, one eye twitching comically. She suddenly snickered and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, he looks like one of those kids you trampled when you had to get a shot and ran out of the doctor's office." she sneered.

Damien spluttered indignantly. "I didn't run! I walked _quickly _and with _purpose_."

"Are you kidding? You got out of there so fast you left skid marks on the damn kid!" they glared good-naturedly at each other for a while before Damien started laughing.

"Any way. So far every thing's been peaceful. But what do you expect, with the Demon Crest and all." that's when Kyo noticed that he had the Demon Crest on his left wrist too. He peered at the black haired man harder and noticed how much he and Spirit looked alike, though he looked to be about twenty. The line of their jaw was similar and the broadness of their shoulders was almost the same, though Damien was taller than her.

"Excuse me, are you two related?" he asked quietly. Spirit snorted and put Damien in a head lock, giving him a noogey, after that is, throwing the boiling water on him.

"Yeah, he's my younger cousin. Though I'd deny any relation to him in public." she said over the man's protests.

"You're not older than me!"

"Oh yes I am! You're only a little over two thousand years old, I'm over twelve thousand. You just _look _older." she corrected him. Yanking him to his feet, she shoved him to the door. "Now get out."

"Wait! I have one more thing!"

"What?!" Spirit snapped, still shoving.

"What size dress do you wear?"

Spirit nearly fell over at the question. "I don't know! I don't wear dresses! I make a point of _avoiding_ them!" she snarled, throwing the door open. "Now don't come back unless you're dieing or on fire." she finished, slamming the door and locking it.

Kyo blinked at her and tried not to laugh as she rested her forehead against the door, obviously exhausted from dealing with her cousin. He could vaguely hear her muttering to herself about how she can't deal with him without being drained, and how she'd rather go without him in her life.

"I don't think you're on the best terms huh?"

She shook her head meekly. "Not really. Call it a dysfunctional way of life." she looked at him carefully. "You're pretty smart for an eight year old." she commented. While Kyo turned an interesting shade of red at the complement, Spirit shuffled into the kitchen and poured herself a large cup of coffee, heating it up. She looked at him for a moment from her position and seemed to be waging an internal war. "Tomorrow, I'll bring you to the park or something. Its the birthday of one of my friends daughters, and I think they'd like to meet you. The mother's one of the only humans, aside from yourself, here in Japan who's accepted me without question."

Kyo blinked in surprise and nodded. "Sure!" he said happily. Spirit nodded and fished her cell phone out of her back pocket, dialing her friend. Kyo watched, trying to follow the conversation.

"Hey kid. Where's your mom?" Spirit asked after a moment. There was a pause, as the child handed the phone to her mother. "Hey. I've recently 'adopted' a kid and I'd like him to meet you and miss thing." another pause. "Uh, tomorrow at the park if you don't have anything else going on." yet another pause. "Say around one? I don't wake up until noon anyway."

_Noon?_ Kyo thought skeptically. _I wake up at five! I'll be waiting for hours. _He sighed and stretched, leaning back against the soft couch.

"Yeah sure. Hm? My treat." a pause, but a loud one seeing as Spirit had to yank the phone away from her ear. Switching, she rubbed her abused one delicately and laughed. "I won't hear another word. I've saved up, so there's no prob-what?" again, a pause. "No no no. _My _treat. Spoil yourselves once in a while. I know for a fact that between you and your kid there's not much extra cash to go around. I live by-or used to live by myself." she rolled her eyes and mouthed 'I know lunatics' at Kyo who couldn't help but smile. "Darn it woman! Stop! You're making my head hurt. Wait don- and you did. Honestly, you need to stop apologizing for everything. You sound like your husband." Crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue, Spirit sighed. "No that's not a bad thing." deciding she'd had enough, Spirit came up with some excuse out of thin air. "Uh. Excuse me, I left my toaster in the oven. I was making eggs and I don't want them to freeze." she snapped the phone closed and put it gingerly down on the bar like she expected it to bite her.

Kyo couldn't hold it in anymore and started cracking up, while Spirit looked on with a 'what did I do' expression. Eventually she joined him. "You really do know lunatics." he laughed, but was cut off by a long yawn.

"Tired are we?" Spirit asked with a chuckle. Kyo nodded through half lidded eyes. Spirit motioned for him to follow her and lead him down the hall to the second bedroom. "Let me go get that blanket from the couch." she trotted back to the couch, snatched the blanket, stopping at the linen closet to get a couple pillows as well, and shuffled back to the room. Kyo was already sitting on the bed, swinging his legs and staring at the floor with a sheepish expression. "What?" she asked after setting the items down.

"Its just... you don't know much about me, and I don't know much about you... but you're still being kind to me as though I were just a normal kid who you've known your whole life." he felt Spirit sit beside him and wrap an arm around his shoulder. She pulled him close, and he waited for the ever familiar 'poof' of him transforming, but was startled when he didn't.

"Don't worry about it Kyo." she murmured. "I know much more about you than you think." releasing him, she stood up and stuffed her hands in her pockets, walking to the door.

"...Spirit?" Kyo called just before she left. She turned around one hand resting on the door frame, having been reaching for the light switch. "Thanks." he continued, blushing slightly. Spirit smiled and flipped the light off, closing the door half way.

"No problem." she whispered. He heard her door close quietly and laid down, resting his head on the soft pillow.

_Why didn't I transform? _He wondered. Then: _I wonder what kind of demon she is?_ His thoughts continued along this line until he drifted into dreamland.

Early the next morning, Kyo sat up drearily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with one hand, the other stretched toward the ceiling. He looked out the window, seeing that the sun was barely up like normal, and stood up. He almost went to his drawer to get a clean change of clothes, the remembered that all his things were back in the Souhma house. His crimson eyes flew open however when Spirit opened his door with her foot, carrying five large boxes in her arms, with all his things in them.

"Afternoon sleeping beauty." she said with a snicker, setting the boxes down with a huff.

"Afternoon?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah. This window blocks out a lot of the sun's light so people can sleep longer. Dunno why though. Anyway, it's about twelve thirty." she leaned on on of the boxes, which was easy seeing as they were stacked as high as her shoulder.

"How did you get all that?"

"Hm? Oh, I pulled some strings, scared the life out of your dad again, and went through your room packing all clothes and valuable looking things. I'm surprised that there wasn't more, but considering who you are, I suppose it's nothing to worry over." she replied calmly. "Get changed, we have to be at the park in twenty minutes." she trotted out of the room, smirking.

Kyo carefully unstacked the boxes, laying them in a line, and started digging through the three that had clothes. He eventually found a loose pair of green khakis and an orange shirt. Throwing them on quickly, he raced into the kitchen still tugging on his shoes. Spirit handed him a plate with some salmon and seasoned rice on it and he sat at the table quickly. Both scarfed down the food as fast as they could without making themselves sick, and ran out the door. They had to run to get to the park in time, but luckily Spirit's apartment wasn't that far from it so they weren't exhausted when they got there.

Spirit pulled out her phone to check the time and grinned when she saw that they still had a couple minutes to cool down. Sitting in the shade of a large tree near the entrance, they talked about random things until two people arrived. One, the mother obviously, had long red-orange hair and pretty brown eyes, the other, her daughter, had brown hair and blue eyes. "Hey!" Spirit called. "Kyoko! Touhru! Over here!" they looked over to them just as Spirit was pulling Kyo to his feet.

"Hey!" Kyoko laughed as they ran up to them. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Not long." Spirit shrugged grinning. She looked down at Touhru and laughed. "Happy Birthday kid." she said, ruffling her hair. She noticed that Kyo was hiding behind her and rolled her eyes. "This is Kyo."

Kyo tried to protest as Spirit pushed him forward, but the next thing he knew, he was face to face with Touhru. He turned as red as his eyes and mumbled a shy hello. Touhru giggled and said hi back, but with more enthusiasm. He was introduced quickly, and soon Touhru was dragging him to the playground with Spirit calling after them that Kyo didn't like to be hugged. Kyoko looked at the younger _looking_ girl beside her and laughed.

"So how long has Kyo been staying with you?"

"Huh? Oh, since yesterday. I saved him from an abusive father. He's... different... than the other... more 'special' Souhmas. Its cruel, just because there's one thing different about him he gets tormented in such a way." she snorted and crossed her arms. Kyoko shook her head in dismay.

"It really is..."

"Mama! Spirit-onee-san! Come play!" Touhru called from the playground. The two looked at each other and laughed, running up to the kids, playing tag, climbing on the jungle gym and such. When the sun was starting to go down, they all sat heavily on the ground, panting. Touhru giggled and said with a huge smile: "That was fun! We should play again tomorrow!"

Spirit sat up and looked at her apologetically. "Sorry Touhru. I'm taking Kyo somewhere tomorrow. It was supposed to be a surprise for him, but I guess not anymore." she looked at Kyo with an 'I'll explain later' look. He nodded and laughed at Touhru's pout. "Come on, let's get something to eat. My treat." she said, ignoring Kyoko's protests that she should pay.

When they reached the restaurant, Spirit pulled out a length of velcro and used it to hide the Demon Crest so she would be allowed in the building instead of chased out with a knife. Demon or not, she could go without adding another scar to her already long list of scars. Dinner passed too quickly for their liking, and pretty soon, they were going separate ways.

Reaching the apartment, Kyo immediately demanded to know where they were going. Spirit sighed and sat him down. "Well, if you want to, I'm going to take you with me on a bit of a... shall we say 'training trip' that will last until you're twelve. I'll teach you how to fight and if your body can handle it, I'll teach you some magic." she looked at him expectantly and blinked.

"A training trip? To where?" Kyo asked in wonder.

"The mountains and forests here in Japan. The reason it's only until you're twelve is 'cause that's when I have to go back to America. I never stay in Japan long because of the whole Demon Crest thing. But I'll come back when you're sixteen to see if you've kept up your training, and if I'm impressed I'll give you a little something." pausing she continued slowly. "So what do you think? You think you're up for it?"

Kyo was silent for a couple minutes weighting his options against each other. Then he remembered Yuki, the boy who was possessed by the rat spirit and became a bit angry. He wanted to beat he damn rat and claim his rightful place among the zodiac. Looking up at Spirit with a look of determination, he nodded curtly. "Yes. I have some plans that this would be useful for." Spirit looked at him carefully and nodded with a grin.

"Awesome."

_**Alright! This has to be the longest thing I have ever written. But its not over. There will be a second chapter showing when Kyo meets up with Spirit again when he's eighteen, but before the curse is broken. I'll get started on that right away! Enjoy!**_


	2. Chapter 2

You're Gonna Go Far Kid

_**Ok, here's the second and final part of this one. This is after the training trip, when Kyo's about sixteen (I think I accidentally put eighteen in the last chapter. Oops...) And after Touhru has moved in with them, but before she finds out about Kyo's other side; around the third episode. You'll see what I have planned... Oh, and there's a bit of character torture. Its not that I don't like the ones that are being abused, but this kinda just goes with the story...**_

"That's it! I've had enough of you, you sissy rat!" Kyo yelled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Stop yelling you idiot." Yuki snapped back calmly.

"Don't call me an idiot!"

"Then don't act like one."

Kyo could vaguely hear Touhru telling them to stop fighting, but it was too late. He swung his fist forward, almost connecting with Yuki's cheek, but the rat ducked and kicked him back. If Yuki wasn't human, Kyo wouldn't have had to hold back, but with the training that he had gotten he could easily kill the rat just by poking him. He just wanted to beat him in a fight, not to kill him. "Damn it..." Kyo growled from his sprawled position on the floor.

_"When you fight Yuki, you'll have to hold back almost all of your strength. Get a feel of how much you can let leak through." _

He remembered what his teacher, who was a demon, had told him about controlling his strength. She had left when he was twelve, just like she said she would have to, leaving Kyo to look after himself. But she had also said she would come back, but didn't specify when. _I think I can let a little more through..._ he thought sitting up with a exasperated sigh. Touhru was bending over him, fussing over his bloody cheek like she always seemed to do.

_"Kyo... I'll have to wipe Touhru's memories. You'll see why when you're older."_

_Why? _Kyo thought. _Why would she wipe Touhru's memories of that one day we spent together?_

"Kyo-kun are you alright?" Touhru asked with an extremely concerned expression.

Kyo glared at her, though his anger wasn't directed at the girl. "Yeah I'm fine! Stop fussing over me!" he snapped, then stiffened. "Ah. No. Never mind. Forget I said anything..."

_"I have a feeling that you two will grow very close... when the time comes..."_

His teacher was a mysterious one. Though she practically raised him after his mother killed herself, he didn't really know much about her. He had laid awake many times trying to figure her out, but it always ended up with him being sleep deprived and more confused than ever.

Standing up, Kyo stomped out of the room and into the forest to beat up an innocent tree so he didn't take it out on the house. He thought he felt someone watching him, but when he turned to look, there wasn't anyone there. _It had better not be that damn rat._

_"You'll know that I'm there when I come back. With what I've taught you, you should be able to sense a presence from ten miles away."_

Kyo concentrated on the feeling but it vanished as soon as he was able to grasp at the imaginary threads that would identify the presence. He heard something rustle in the distance, then again a bit farther away, and again, and again. Each time it got farther away. Shaking it off roughly, Kyo turned to a random tree a couple meters away and started to kick and punch it, each time a large chunk of bark flying off into the bushes. Deciding to let it all out the dropped the barrier on his strength and lashed out with his leg, crashing it right through the tree, which was still some two feet thick. It fell over with a loud 'boom' that could probably be heard back at the house.

_"Your... original form... could be more useful than you think. True it's ugly, but its powerful. In desperate times when you need speed more than strength, you may have to use it. I want to train that form as well as your human appearance. Your cat form may need some too, to make you faster in any way possible. You have natural strength, but the rat is not only strong, but quick. That is why you won't be able to win if you just train your arms."_

"Damn it... I don't want to use that form at all..." he muttered to himself, sitting on the fallen tree. "Its brought me nothing but trouble."

"Kyo-kun!" he heard Touhru call. She was looking for him, concerned of course, but what else was new. "Kyo-kun! You're going to miss dinner if you don't come back." she called again.

He was about to reply, but he heard Yuki calling too, but using 'stupid cat' instead of his name of course. Kyo growled and jumped into a tree, not wanting to be found by the rat, he was still too pissed to think clearly.

_"If you let your anger control your actions, then its no wonder you've never been able to do anything. Yuki knows how to get under your skin and will use that to his advantage. He knows that if you tried hard enough, and if you have a clear head, that you could beat him easily. He obviously doesn't want that, so he angers you to make it easier for him. That is the way of the rat, to deceive and take the easy road, so don't blame him for his nature."_

"Heh. Damn cheating rat..." he snorted, glaring at the silver haired boy below him.

"Wow!" Touhru said in amazement. "I wonder what hit this tree?" she stared in wonder at the abused tree laying on the ground, while Yuki just snorted and crossed his arms.

"That stupid cat has probably been beating it up for months. Typical, he's too scared to fight, so he abuses a tree." Kyo had to smother a growl as the rat made fun of him, and latched onto the tree he was in so he wouldn't jump on him. He _still _couldn't think clearly. "Let's go back Honda-san. He'll wander back eventu-huh?" he cut off, staring into the bushes. "Honda-san, did you see a flash of white over there?"

"Huh? N-No Souhma-kun. I didn't." Touhru replied staring a bit too hard to be healthy in the direction Yuki indicated. Kyo stared too, and thought he could see a bit of movement, but brushed it off as the wind, which was blowing gently.

"Must have been a trick of the light..." Yuki murmured, leading the way back to the house. Touhru followed him slowly, Kyo watching them impatiently. Dropping down from his perch, he examined the bushes a bit more closely, before stuffing his hands in his pockets and trudging back to the house slowly. At the front door however, he met the surprise of his life.

In an attack/defense position was a huge—at least bear sized—pure white cat with a brown tabby tail. Its lips were pulled back in a snarl and Kyo could hear a growl coming from deep in its throat. Around its left fore-paw was a black wrist band, but it was turned around, so he couldn't see any design. Around its neck were two silver dog tags and a gold star, and on its chest was a light blue 'S' with a dash in each of the curves. He couldn't help but feel like he knew the cat.

Kyo hastily got into a defensive position as the cat bunched its muscles, ready to spring, but nothing happened for thirty seconds. Just as he was about to drop his guard, the cat sprang at him, its long black claws extended, ready to slice him into little bite sized pieces. Letting out a startled cry, Kyo ducked, but felt its claws graze his head as it flew over him. He didn't have much time to straighten up as the cat landed and arched around, flying at him again. This time he grabbed its paws and tried to hold it off as it clawed and snapped at his face and neck, snarling furiously, having no problems with standing on its hind legs.

The cat pulled back, lifting its back legs off the ground, and fell backwards, dragging Kyo with it. It kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying over its head and into the garden. When Kyo scrambled to his feet, it was gone, nothing but the slight skid marks on the ground from its first landing.

"What the hell?!" he cried, sitting up. Rubbing his head, he saw Yuki, Touhru, and Shigure looking at him with wide, puzzled eyes. "I don't know any more about that then you do." he snapped, more harshly then he meant.

Yuki crossed his arms and snorted, a cruel smirk on his face. "Getting beaten up by your own kind? How pitiful." he shook his head ruefully, but had to stifle a yelp when a loud roar rattled the windows on the house. He could vaguely hear a whisper of a voice on the echo of the roar.

_"Don't underestimate that which you cannot see..." _it whispered with a sadistic edge. _"Respect those you disrespect or the rivers will run red with your blood..." _it faded slowly, repeating the same two lines over and over.

"Good lord..." Yuki breathed. "Am I the only one that heard that?"

"Heard what Souhma-kun? It was just the wind." Touhru said, peering at him curiously. Yuki looked at her, then at Shigure, and finally at Kyo, who was smirking at him.

"Yeah, I heard it, but it was directed at you. I'd recognize that voice anywhere, and I suggest you do what it says you damn rat."

Yuki glared at him narrowing his eyes. "Why should I listen to you you stupid cat?" but there was tinge of fear to his voice. The boy stomped into the house, sitting at the table, staring blankly at the plate of food before him as the others stared from him to Kyo.

"What are you staring at?" Kyo snapped, shouldering past Shigure, and sitting as far away from Yuki as he could. _I wonder if that was a messenger from Spirit... I've never seen her demon form so I can't be sure... The presence of the cat seemed different from Spirit's, so I'm not putting any names anywhere..._

While Kyo was musing to himself, Touhru and Shigure had sat down and were still looking from the cat, to the rat, and back again. Shigure decided to break the unfriendly silence. "So Kyo-kun, what did you mean when you said 'that voice'?" Kyo stared at him, a bit startled, his crimson eyes wide.

Snickering inwardly he broke his chopsticks apart and stabbed his food. "The voice of a demon." he stated simply. "'Don't underestimate that which you cannot see... Respect those you disrespect or the rivers will run red with your blood...' That's what it said. And like I said, it was directed at girly boy over there." he stuck some of the food in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "That white cat earlier was a demon. My teacher, who took care of me from when I was eight until I was twelve, taught me how to fight demons, or how to fight anything. Those were the best four years of my life." he rambled, then broke himself off, noticing the strange stares he was getting. "Eh... forget it..."

_**-The next day: Enter Kagura-**_

_Oh shit! _Kyo yelped mentally as the ground rumbled furiously. Springing to his feet, he tried to make a run for it, but of course Shigure had to be... Shigure and held him back. Before he knew it Kagura, a girl whom was obsessed with him was staring at him teary eyed, saying something that Kyo couldn't understand through his fear. Then, she got a scary gleam in her eyes and drew back her hand, about to punch the living daylights out of him, but as she brought her fist forward, it lurched to a halt. Her eyes glazed over and she started to shake, frozen in her position.

_"Harm the innocent and suffer the consequences... Your obsession will tear you apart from the inside out..."_ said the same voice from the day before. Kagura lurched, and fell to her knees, screaming and clutching her head.

"Kagura-san!" everyone aside from Kyo cried, rushing to her side. When she looked up there were tears pouring from her eyes and a small trickle of blood coming from her mouth.

"What's happening?!" Touhru cried, trying to pry Kagura's hands from her head as her fingernails started to draw blood. Kyo spluttered something, before finding his voice.

"The curse of a demon... Uh... its hard to explain." he laid his hand hesitantly on Kagura's head and she instantly calmed down and passed out, transforming into a boar. Touhru was too shaken up to be excited about the discovery of another zodiac animal, and carried her to another room to rest.

"Kyo? Would you mind explaining what's going on? You seem to know quite a bit about demons." Shigure said, staring at him with a hint of anger, though not towards Kyo.

Kyo thought for a moment, putting his thoughts in order, before sighing and crossing his legs. "My teacher was a demon, but one of the more civil ones if you can believe that. She taught me everything there is to know about fighting, and even taught me some limited strength magic... she was extremely protective of me, and thought of me as her son. She didn't care if it was someone's nature, like Kagura's, to beat on people, even through shows of affection." he nearly chocked on the word. "She saved me from my own father, who, after my mother died, hated me even more. He was stopped by her while beating me, wanting to be rid of me once and for all. She took me in without question, and took me on a four year journey, teaching me how to fight against just about anything. She also told me about the curse of a demon." he sighed and rested his head in his hands. "'If someone harms you in a way that is life threatening,' she said, 'The curse of the demon will activate. I don't care if their violence is out of love, you don't deserve such treatment from anyone.' I didn't think she was serious though, just trying to reassure me as she was leaving four years ago. Obviously she was very serious. Why the curse didn't do anything to that damn rat is a mystery, but I suppose its because she knows that I want to beat him myself. Any mental scars are your own fault." he stared pointedly at Yuki, who was still quite shaken from the day before.

"What about that white cat?"

"I don't know who that was. It was wearing a Demon Crest, so it was a demon. I never saw my teacher's demon form, and I don't even know what _kind _of demon she was, so I don't know." Kyo shrugged. _It wasn't Damien. He's a fox demon... I wonder..._

"Kyo-kun, why was your father so cruel to you?" Touhru asked quietly. Kyo winced, and she started to apologize, but he held up a hand, making her quiet down.

"Because I'm the cat. I'm hated by all the Souhmas who know my secret, aside from a few." he paused and sighed. "And if a strange girl appears on the doorstep one day soon, don't be surprised." he stated, standing up and going up the stairs, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He stared out of the hallway window and thought he could see a tallish figure standing in the shadow of a tree, but when he blinked it was gone. Kyo spent the rest of the day laying on the roof, thinking about random things.

_"Don't let things worry you too much kid. Trust me, there's much worse things than being cursed by the vengeful spirit of the cat." _He remembered Spirit's words from when they first started their journey, and Kyo would spend hours at a time worrying over what the reaction would be to him betting so strong at home. She would whack him affectionately on the head and grin down at him, saying not to worry. But she never spoke about herself, saying that she would tell him another day, when she thought he could handle it. She would say that the things she had seen as humans took over the earth and changed it in such drastic ways were truly horrific, and would rather keep him naïve to human nature.

"But I am ready..." he whispered, watching white puffy clouds roll sluggishly across the sky as the sun started to go below the horizon. "I've always been ready..." sitting up, he looked out over the forest and the town beyond, not noticing Touhru until she yelled something in her perky voice, making him jump. "What are you doing up here?" he demanded.

"Are you hiding from Kagura, or are you just thinking Kyo-kun?" she asked, sitting beside him, an innocent look on her face.

"I don't think I have to worry about Kagura anymore... and I can't really say I'm thinking about anything in particular."

Touhru was silent for a while, then asked politely: "Tell me more about your teacher Kyo-kun. If you want." He glanced at her and smirked.

"Well, she was always nice to me, always patient. If I didn't get a move right, she'd have me practice it over and over and over again until I got it down perfect or passed out. But when ever someone made fun of me or tried to hurt me for what ever reason, she would get so mad... when she gets mad enough, she gets sadistic and her kill drive kicks in. My dad got her so pissed that she almost killed him, but instead left him with nothing but a few gashes and broken ribs, but with the knowledge that she would get him one day." taking a deep breath, Kyo couldn't help but smile. "She has a cousin who's a bit brash, but nice too. They would get into the most hilarious squabbles, one of them got to the point to where she threw boiling water on him. A dysfunctional family so to speak." letting out a deep sigh Kyo shivered as an unusually cold gust of wind blew through his hair. "The four years she trained me went by too fast. Each morning I would wake up and think 'what's she going to teach me today?', or 'how much stronger am I going to get?' It was awesome!" in his excitement he had stood up, and was nearly trembling in excitement. Then he noticed Touhru's gaze and sat down, as red as his eyes. "But I guess that's kinda boring to you, huh?"

"N-No! It's really quite interesting! I don't know much about fighting, but I do know some moves... u-uh... let's see here.... Right straight!" she punched him meekly in the shoulder and they were silent for a couple seconds before Kyo smirked.

"You really suck you know that?" he said jokingly. They grinned at each other as the wind blew again, wreathing around Kyo like a cool embrace, and he felt truly safe for the first time in two four years. A leaf touched his cheek softly, before floating away, but he caught it carefully, staring at it hard, as though it might speak to him. "I wonder when she'll come back..." he murmured.

"Was she nice to others?" Touhru asked, having regained what little composure she had.

"In general, she was halfway between nice and mean, at least toward most humans. Aside from a select few, she despises humans with all of her being, but still feels that; no matter how cruel they are to her; she also has to protect them. She might like you if she ever met you," he winced inwardly, remembering that Touhru had already met Spirit, but didn't remember her now. "As long as you don't go into one of your long strings of 'I'm sorry's. That would probably make her slap you." he tried not to laugh at Touhru's expression, but found it hard. "Don't worry though. I doubt she'll come back for another few years..." _But things have been getting too strange lately. Normally Akito wouldn't hesitate to erase her memories, something must have convinced him to leave her be for the time being. _

His thoughts were cut off by a soft chuckle behind them, and they spun around to see someone perched on a telephone pole beside the house. They were silhouetted by the moon in the darkness, and Kyo couldn't tell the gender. They hopped down from the pole to the roof, hair shining silver in the moonlight, and one side of their face visible.

"Spirit!" Kyo cried in surprise, springing to his feet. "You came back!"

Spirit grinned and flitted out of sight, reappearing directly in front of Kyo, ramming her hand into his stomach, sending him flying off the roof. She followed him, landing gracefully in front of the jumbled heap that was Kyo. "I hope you've kept your training up Kyo. Don't disappoint me again."

"Again?!" Kyo spluttered. His crimson eyes widened, thinking back to the day before. "That was _you_?!"

"Yeah, now get up." Kyo scrambled to his feet and dropped the barrier on his strength, feeling fresh energy flow into his limbs, and sucked in a deep breath. Spirit grinned, still in a relaxed position, and was suddenly face to face with Kyo. She brought her hand back, slashing at his face, but Kyo caught her wrist and tossed her over his head, trying to bend her arms behind her back, but she flipped around and kicked him in the chest. Spirit landed in a crouch and sprang again, catapulting over Kyo and landing on her hands, mule kicking him in the back. Twisting, she grabbed his ankles and planted her feet firmly on the ground, spinning him around until he was just a blur with an orange top.

Kyo strained the muscles in his stomach and curled toward Spirit, grabbing her wrists and slamming his head into hers as hard as he could without crushing his skull. He was human after all. Spirit dropped him and stumbled back, shaking her head, her vision a bit fuzzy from the impact. Kyo took the opportunity to jump at her and knock her to the ground, straddling her stomach and pinning her arms above her head.

"Now then, is there a damn reason why you're attacking me?" he snapped, glaring at her. Spirit snickered and wrenched an arm free, wrapping her hand around his neck and throwing him aside.

"Yes! To see if you're as strong as you were when I left you." she grunted back, her hands on her hips. Kyo noticed that there was a deep gash on her side, blood making her loose shirt stick to her side. There was also one above her eye, blood dripping into it. He knew he didn't cause those.

"What happened to you?" he breathed. "Get attacked by a mob again?"

"Why yes, now stop changing the subject." she jumped at him again, but Kyo watched carefully, and noticed that her movements were sluggish, now that she had reopened her wounds, and blood splattered on him as she flew over him as he ducked.

"Spirit stop! You're hurt." he cried.

Spirit laughed without humor. "You don't know what hurt is until you've been in a demonic war." Kyo could see her eyes glazing over. _How much blood has she already lost?_ Regardless, he had to get her to stop jumping around, but knowing how stubborn she could be, it would be hard. _Magic! I'll have to use magic! That's what she wants._ He thought, eyes wide.

"Very well..." he stood still and brought forth the words she had taught him, raising his hand. It was surrounded by a bright orange, almost plasma-like, fire. Thrusting his hand forward, a hand of the fire shot out, grasping Spirit, who despite however powerful she was, didn't have the strength to counter it in time. Kyo walked at a brisk pace toward her, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold it for long, and brought his hand down on her neck, knocking her out. Dropping the magic, he lifted her carefully, hoping he wouldn't transform, and carried her inside, noticing Shigure and Yuki watching from a window, and Touhru a little ways behind them, tears forming in her eyes. Kagura was still out of it, and would be until Spirit woke her and lifted the demon curse from the girl. "Call Hatori." Kyo said, laying Spirit on the floor gently. No one moved. "What's wrong with you?"

"You... You just fought at demon... and won..." Shigure stammered.

"Only because she was holding back almost all of her strength and was weakened already. Now _call Hatori_." he snarled the last words, and Shigure scrambled to the phone. "I wouldn't suggest insulting her rat." Kyo snapped, almost reading Yuki's thoughts. "Its not smart to make fun of demons." he lifted her left hand and stared curiously at the Demon Crest, having, despite all the time they had spent together in the past, never really gotten the chance to look at it. It was enchanting, and frightening at the same time, screaming danger to all who weren't demons. The silver fabric of the symbol glittered in the light of the lamp beside them, and the black, almost wool like substance, gave of no shine at all.

After about ten minutes, Hatori arrived. Kyo had fished a velcro strip that Spirit used to hide the Demon Crest when she went into stores out of her pocket and had wrapped it securely around the wristband so that Hatori wouldn't refuse to treat her. What he didn't know was that the dragon already knew Spirit, having seen her talking to Akito on a few occasions. He tore her shirt open some more and stitched up the gash, which had almost sliced her small and large intestines wide open, and then stitched the gash on her forehead, which had exposed bone. Putting thick gauze bandages on both, he told Kyo not to let her move around—or fight—much so she didn't reopen the wounds again. Saying that there was no charge, he left without another word.

"Ah man... how are we going to get her into clean clothes. Touhru's will be too small for her... and I don't know if she had a bag or camp near by. Or an apartment." Kyo groaned. Yuki snorted and glared at Spirit, who was sleeping soundly.

"Who cares. Demons are evil, bloodthirsty monsters. She doesn't need a place to stay." Kyo stood up, his pupils nothing but slits and stared down at the rat.

"Don't you ever say that again you damn rat. Don't forget, she's my teacher, and one of the most powerful demons to ever live. She is not bloodthirsty, nor is she a monster, so lay off!" he snarled, grabbing Yuki by his shirt collar. "You haven't seen her truly fight. You haven't seen what she's really like, so you have no room to make judgments."

"Kyo's right Yuki. Spirit here is actually a friend of Akito's. And I use the term friend lightly. To say this much, Spirit saved him, so Akito owes her." Shigure said from the kitchen, having met Spirit once before.

Kyo let go of Yuki's shirt and stared at the dog. "You know her?"

"I met her once. I was talking to Akito a few years ago and she stopped by. She said; and I quote; 'what are you up to you psychotic brat? Torment any more rats lately?'" Shigure looked pointedly at Yuki, who shrank away with a wince. Kyo resisted the urge to smirk and sat down beside the sleeping demon with a huff.

"...Kyo-kun?" Touhru said in a small, frightened voice. "Why did she attack you? I thought you said she thought of you as a son."

Kyo looked up at her to see her trying not to cry. Twitching once, he sighed and cracked a small grin. "Ah, that's just her way. She was testing me to see if I had kept up my training. No harm done except to her. She was mobbed again."

"Again?"

"Yeah. Most other humans don't take kindly to demons. Especially one as... legendary... as her. I guess she forgot to hide the Demon Crest and went into a store." he smiled a bit more of a true smile. "Don't worry about it. She heals fast and I'm not hurt." Touhru didn't look too convinced, but sat down across from Kyo, staring at Spirit with an unusual look of concentration.

"I have this feeling that I know her from somewhere." she whispered.

"You might. Maybe when you were a kid." Kyo replied, not wanting to hint too much.

_**-The next morning... or noon rather-**_

Spirit twitched as she felt sunlight penetrating her dreams of a humanless earth, and tried to roll over to hide her head under a pillow, but a strong hand held her in place. Her eyes flew open and she grabbed the hand, flinging the person over her and straddling them, pulling a dagger out from under the sleeve of her shirt and holding it to their throat.

"Woah woah! Calm down its me!" Kyo cried gulping. Spirit's sleep fogged vision cleared and she cocked her head.

"Kyo?" she said, her brain not functioning quite yet. And he knew it.

"Yeah, now put the... sharp pointy thing away and go get some coffee..." he yelped, not daring to move. Spirit slid off him and tried to stand, but yelped and sat down heavily.

"Crud! What is that?!" she snarled, clutching her side. She felt her shirt, it was stiff with dried blood, and was torn open and she could feel a soft substance against her side. Looking down, she saw that it was a large gauze bandage. "Ooh..." she said with a hint of wonder, still a bit slow.

"Yeah, oh." Kyo snorted. "Never mind, I'll get it for you." he stood up. Lifting Spirit onto the couch like he would with a little kid, much to her distaste, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and went into the kitchen. "Oh and not that I'm complaining or anything, but thanks to you, I had to miss school today."

Spirit glared after him. "Well you shouldn't have stayed home. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" she snapped, sounding very much like a little kid.

"I had to. Hatori said that someone should always be watching you so you're not jumping around an reopening your wounds, tearing the stitches."

"Hatori of course..." she hissed, cursing at the doctor mentally.

"And you have to lift the demon curse."

Spirit snorted. "Now that I won't do." Kyo stuck his head around the corner and narrowed his eyes.

"Thanks to your stupid curse, Kagura's in a coma and the damn rat's scared for life. Lift the curse on them. I want the rat at full strength when I take him down." he snapped. Spirit raised an eyebrow, but shrugged.

"I'll think about it."

_She's just doing that to piss me off...! _Kyo snarled to himself. Pouring her a cup of coffee he stuck it in her hands and sat down on the floor. "There isn't any milk so you'll have to take it black."

"Eew..." Spirit cringed, but tossed it back in two gulps, shuddering at the strong taste. Normally she covered it up with sugar filled flavored milk, but when desperate, she would take it straight.

"So why'd you pick now of all times to come back?" Spirit peered at him with one eyebrow raised.

"...I'll tell you when I feel like it." she replied calmly, waving one hand dismissively.

"Damn it woman you're doing that on purpose!" Kyo yelled, his hands fisted at his sides. She gave him an 'of course I am' look and leaned back carefully, ignoring Kyo completely, staring at the TV. Spirit patted him on the head and he could hear her stifle a laugh.

"So was that girl last night Touhru or was I seeing things?"

Kyo glanced over his shoulder, and nodded. "Yeah, that was her."

Spirit hid a grimace and a twitch with a cough and laughed. _She looks too much like me to be healthy... silvery brown hair... gray-blue eyes...? Its a nightmare... _she groaned to herself. "She's grown."

"No kiddin'. But why did you have to erase her memories eight years ago?"

"...I have my reasons." Spirit said slowly, getting under Kyo's skin again.

"Hey! Would you stop with the crypted messages and tell me already?!" Kyo shouted, glaring at her harshly. Spirit just laughed and said in an eerie voice:

"All in due time..."

_**-Some months later. The demon curse was lifted some time ago-**_

It was a pretty spring afternoon with bright sunlight, white clouds, green trees, and beautiful flowers everywhere. That is... if you were awake to see it. Spirit as usual was still asleep—seeing as it was just now rolling around noon time—and was dreaming once again of a humanless earth. She had moved into Shigure's house, sharing a room with Touhru much to her disdain, and had gotten back into training Kyo.

Speaking of, the orange haired boy was downstairs with Yuki and Touhru. Shigure was in his study doing 'work.' Touhru was making lunch, and as usual fretting over the still sleeping Spirit. "Shouldn't we wake her up? Her lunch will get cold again." she said, keeping her voice from getting too loud.

Kyo snorted and shook his head, having gone over this many times before. "I told you already, that's a bad idea. Last time I woke her up before her own mind did, I was sent through a concrete wall. I was in the hospital for a couple weeks."

"I thought you said a single week you stupid cat. Stop exaggerating." Yuki said coldly, glaring at the cat.

"Hey! Don't call me stupid you sissy rat!" Kyo yelled back, forgetting to keep his voice low. "Who are you to call me stupid anyway?! You made the mistake of making fun of a _demon_ and payed the price!" he continued, referring to the constant cruel pranks that Spirit had pulled on the rat for insulting her. The rat's skin still had a neon green tinge to it from when she booby trapped his soap, turning his skin bright green for a couple weeks. He couldn't face the outside world for that entire time, and still had a hard time. Then there was the stripper pole and hooker magically appearing in his room one morning, him waking up on an air mattress in the middle of a lake. It took him forever to get to shore. Also there was the pink hair dye in his shampoo, the exploding food, constant house calls from Ayame; each time him showing up with a new pink frilly dress. The list went on and on and on. "Ha! See? I had told you not to insult her, but did you listen? Noo...! Of course you didn't!" Kyo continued to yell.

They heard a thump from upstairs and a couple muffled curses before the house shook with an ear shattering yell. "WHO THE HELL HAS IT IN THEIR RIGHT MIND TO BE YELLING AT THIS UNGODLY HOUR!!??" they heard Spirit scream.

"Uh oh... you're about to meet pissed off, half asleep Spirit. Brace yourselves." Kyo said as they listened to the ever-drawing-closer stomps of the demon's feet on the stairs. Kyo was exceptionally pale, backed up close to the outside door so he could make a break for it if need be. When she rounded the corner, they all took a step back. Her messily cut hair was in a complete rat's nest, her pupils were thin little slits, thought her eyes were half lidded, and her canines had elongated until they stuck out of her mouth over her bottom lip, and her fingernails had gotten longer and sharper. She was in a white sleeveless shirt that cut off above her stomach, showing not only a finely muscled stomach, but many scars from numerous fights. Her gray sleeping sweats were twisted and wrinkled as well. She was the very picture of death, and was sending a glare to everyone in the room that screamed quite loudly: 'KILL!!!'

"Who... the hell... is being so loud..." she snarled. Touhru gulped and decided to speak.

"S-Spirit-san... its noon... and lunch is almost ready." she stammered. Spirit's gaze snapped to her and she narrowed her sleep fogged eyes, then looked at Yuki.

_No... he's too quiet... he wouldn't be yelling... _She slurred to herself. That's when she locked her gaze on Kyo, who was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, sweat rolling down his face. "You..." she hissed, taking a heavy step forward. The next thing her half asleep mind knew, Kyo was gone, and the door was wide open. Snickering and standing up straight, she pulled her eyelids apart and took out the foggy contacts. "Well that went nicely." she said happily, running a hand through her hair, which laid flat instantly. Her canines and fingernails went back to normal and she sat in Kyo's place at the table.

"You were awake?" Yuki asked, a bit confused.

"Have been for a couple hours. I was just waiting for Kyo to start yelling. I've been wanting to pull his on him for a while now." she said with a snort, crossing her arms. Looking out the open door, she shook her head. "He'll wander back once he figures out that I'm not following."

True to form, Kyo peeked warily in the door about five minutes later. He saw Spirit sitting calmly, and very much awake, at the table in a simple t-shirt and jeans, but was still hesitant to enter the house. He shivered when he saw Spirit grin at something Touhru said, able to pick out the sadistic vibes that she sent his way. Shuffling quietly inside, he took a couple steps back when the demon looked at him.

"Nice of you to join us. I was about to eat you lunch for you." she said, a cruel gleam in her eyes. Kyo walked slowly, and very tensely, into the dining room, sitting down away from Spirit, should she decide to choke him. "Relax carrot-piss, I'm not gonna attack you. Geez, don't you know a joke when you see one?"

"Not that kind of joke!" he snapped, stabbing his food with his chopsticks, glaring at her. "I can't believe you. You're more immature than Momiji."

"I try." she stated simply. Looking out a near by window, she saw a couple gray clouds slinking across the sky. "I'll be right back." she stood up and walked outside, pulling out her phone as she did. "Damien... I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need a favor."

_"Oh really? What kind of favor?" _Her cousin said lecherously over the line.

"Not that kind you perv. I don't do incest." she snapped. "Tomorrow its going to rain. A lot. I need you to come over here. There's something I need Kyo to understand."

_"Ooh... I get it now. Alright. I'll clear my schedule for the day. I'll see you around one tomorrow." _

"Good to know." Spirit sighed, not looking forward to tomorrow.

_**-The next afternoon-**_

"Touhru..." Spirit murmured, pulling the girl aside as they walked home from school—Spirit had temporarily enrolled much to Kyo's displeasure. "I need to borrow you later on. I'll be speaking to Kyo, and I'll need you to walk up sometime during the end of the conversation. You'll know when."

Touhru nodded hesitantly, but before she could ask why, she heard Kyo yell something at Yuki, trailing of into short pants. "The rain kills him." Spirit snorted.

_**-That evening-**_

"I hope you're not looking for a fight Spirit. You know what the rain does to me." Kyo said, slumped slightly. They were standing in the pouring rain, Kyo with a tired expression, Spirit with a sad gleam in her eyes.

"That's why I chose today. Damien, restrain him."

"Huh?" Kyo tried to say more, but he felt two strong arms lock under his, holding him in place. "What are you doing?!" he demanded.

Spirit glanced away for a moment, taking a couple steps forward. "Kyo... you need to understand that your other form isn't bad. You need to accept that side of you."

"I have accepted it!"

"Then why haven't you used it to fight Yuki? I told you that it was more powerful than you are in you human body."

"Its caused me so much pain during my whole life!" Kyo snarled, pulling vainly against Damien's grasp. "I don't know what I would do if either of them knew what I was."

"Them? You mean Touhru and Yuki?" she glanced over her left shoulder, just as Touhru walked up with wide eyes, holding her pink umbrella tightly. Kyo's eyes widened and he tried to break out of Damien's hold, but it only got tighter. Spirit walked up to him, only inches from him, and smiled sadly. "You need to see that not everyone will hate your other side." she whispered, barely audible over the pounding rain. Grabbing Kyo's left arm in her hands, she removed his bracelet, stepping back as Damien let go and leaped back. He stared wide eyed from Spirit to Touhru for a split second then:

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!!!" he screamed, dropping to the ground, his body mutating into the cat's original form. The hideous beast stared at Spirit, and she could see betrayal in its purple eyes.

"I'm sorry Kyo..." she whispered.

"K-Kyo-kun..." Touhru gasped. Kyo leaped skyward, not knowing where else to go, racing into the forest, with the other three looking after him.

"Touhru... what did you think when you saw that?" Spirit asked, facing the girl. "Were you scared, disgusted... or did you feel pity, and more love for him than before?" Touhru didn't answer, she just ran after Kyo to who knows where.

"You have to admit that was kind of cruel." Damien said, walking up to his cousin, who glared at him.

"You think I don't know that?" she said calmly, looking away. "I didn't want him living his life in the dark, afraid of what that girl would think when she found out. It was bound to happen sooner or later, so I just took things into my own hands." she lifted her left hand, staring sadly at the Demon Crest. "There are worse things in the world than that. Much worse."

"Aren't you going to go after them? You know how Kyo gets when he's scared. He nearly put you in the hospital last time you pulled this. And he was ten."

Spirit sighed, taking shelter under the covered porch to wait. "No. He won't hurt her, at least not badly. He loves her too much." Damien stood beside her, for once, no trace of his joking demeanor on his face or in his eyes. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, a small comfort that he rarely gave, and that Spirit ever more rarely excepted. "They'll be back in a couple hours. I know it."

Very much like she said, Touhru walked out of the forest, worse for ware, but with a sleeping orange cat in her arms. Spirit stood up, Damien had left, and lurched off the porch, a look of pure relief on her face. She dropped to her knees in front of Touhru. "Thank you... for accepting him." she murmured, barely audible. "I'm sorry for showing you that side of him... but it was for his own good and yours."

Touhru didn't say anything. Instead she crouched by Spirit and put a hand on her shoulder. Spirit looked up, her calm visage shakily back in place. "Thank you for taking care of Kyo-kun when he needed it."

Looking down again, Spirit blinked tears away. "I'm sorry, but... I'm going have to replace your memories tomorrow when I leave. I can't have it known that I'm back in Japan... regardless of whether or not you can keep a secret well." standing up, Spirit lead them inside, her eyes half lidded with sorrow and regret.

_**-Early the next day-**_

Kyo lurched into a sitting position just as the sun rose above the trees. He looked at his wrist, seeing the rosary had been replaced. A flash of silver caught his eyes, and he saw a silver coin with a strange engraving sitting on top of a note on the side table.

"_Kyo,_

_I'm sorry that I have to leave, but its best that I get on the road early. I erased Touhru's memories of me, but not of you this time. If you want to catch me, I'm taking the northern road. I'm impressed by your strength, and your love for the human girl, and if you manage to get to me before I get too far, I'll give you something..."_

"Shit!" Kyo yelped, jumping out of his bed. "Why didn't she wake me up? Oh yeah, its Spirit." he snorted at her name and yanked on a shirt and pants, racing out the door, hoping he would catch her. After running for about ten minutes, he saw her back on top of a hill. "Hey!" he called, hoping that she would stop.

Spirit turned around and grinned when she saw a familiar mess of orange hair racing toward her. He skidded to a halt beside her, panting heavily. In the silence, she took the opportunity to apologize. "I'm sorry about yesterday, but it was for your own good."

"Shut... Shut up... You don't think I know that?" Kyo panted, but he was standing up right now, looking down the road.

"Kyo..." he looked at her to see her smiling sadly. He couldn't duck in time to avoid her palm slamming into his forehead, gripping him tightly. "Here's what I have to give you." she muttered. Kyo started to scream as fire raced through his veins. He felt her rip his bracelet off, breaking the string, but it was replaced by a tighter feeling object. Spirit pulled her hand away, a pale silhouette of Kyo still attached to her palm, but when she closed her hand, it disappeared. Kyo dropped to the ground clutching his head as whispers and yells filled his mind, words of love and hatred, screams of agony. He felt like he was being torn apart, dipped in acid, and drowned at the same time, but soon his screams died away.

Looking down at himself, he let out a yelp when he saw he was back his his hideous original form, but noticed something different. Around his left wrist was the Demon Crest, and he saw his rosary scattered all over the path.

"To change back, all you have to do is think about it." he heard Spirit say. When he looked up, she was already gone, but when he turned around, he saw a white cat with a brown tabby tail sprinting through the forest with practiced ease.

_"To go from one extreme to another is hard. But you already know what suffering is like, so I know you can handle it."_

_I wonder if I can change into a cat too... _He thought, and the next thing he knew, he was an orange cat. _Ok then... Let's see... human... _He was then back in his human body, thankfully fully clothed. "Well now... but... I wonder if the curse is still in effect." furrowing his eyebrows, he made his way quickly back to Shigure's house.

_"No matter what Kyo, I want you to know that I will always think of you as a son. It doesn't matter what you think of me, my words are always concrete. I give you my word that you will see me again one day soon, whether in happy or sad circumstances is another question."_

Kyo burst through the front door, startling Shigure who was reading the paper in by the kotatsu. "Kyo, what's the matter?" Kyo took a moment to reply, catching his breath again.

"Where's Touhru?" he demanded.

"Uh... in the back hanging up clothes. Why?" the cat didn't respond, but as he ran by, Shigure noticed that his bracelet had been replaced by the ever familiar black wristband that was the Demon Crest. _Ah Spirit, you really are something..._

Kyo hesitated on the back porch, wondering if he really wanted to do this. What would Akito, Yuki, Hatori, and all the others think when they found out that he had gone from one extreme to another. He wasn't 'the cat' feared among the zodiac members, but he was a demon, feared by all. And Touhru didn't remember Spirit's stay, so she didn't know that not all demons were bloodthirsty monsters. _I'll just have to reexplain it then. _The new demon thought determinedly.

_"Keep up your training, but when you fight Yuki again, make sure you beat him. Be sure to keep your strength in check so you don't kill him, lord knows that wouldn't be good for you._

_-With all I am_

_Spirit."_

Touhru noticed him standing there watching her and smiled. Kyo's heart lurched, and his body moved on its own accord. Stepping off the porch, he walked quickly across the yard towards the girl, stopping not two feet from her.

"Kyo-kun what's the matter?" she asked, noticing the conflicted emotions dancing in his crimson eyes. Kyo smiled a true smile and shook his head.

"Nothing." he stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her, making her squeak in alarm. "Nothing at all..." he murmured, pressing his nose into her hair. His heart sped up when he didn't transform, and he felt Touhru stiffen.

"Kyo-kun... you're not transforming... is the curse gone?" Touhru asked, astounded when Kyo stepped back.

"Not on the others... but on me... I'm not human anymore..." he held up his left hand, showing her the Demon Crest. Touhru gasped, one hand at her mouth, taking a step back, her eyes watering. Kyo could see the fear on her face, but it was replaced quickly with the same hesitant understanding and love that he had seen the night before.

"Oh Kyo-kun..." she murmured, placing her hand on the Demon Crest, feeling the silver fabric, and the black band. "Did Spirit-onee-san turn you into one?" she asked.

"You remember her?!" the boy gaped at her, his eyes wide.

Touhru nodded. "She told me last night that she would replace my memories, but never did. Instead, this morning she had me promise that unless you had 'become like her' that I would act like she had never existed. I told her that I would, that her secret, and promise were safe with me."

As they stared at each other, a cool gust of wind blew through the sheets, carrying a soft whisper of a voice on it. A laugh, then an echo of a memory. _"Heh... Kyo you'll see... one day there will be someone who will accept you unconditionally, doing what ever they can to make you happy and comfortable."_

_"You don't know that. The child of the cat is feared by all the Souhmas." _they heard a younger Kyo's voice say.

_"And demons are feared by everything." _the soft voice grew a hard edge, but remained kind. _"Kyo, even though you're different from the others, you're still human. I mean, think of it this way. Not every leaf on a tree is the same, even though at a distance they look the same. Every now and again, you'll find one that is exceptionally strange, but its still a leaf. Just like you have that other form, but you're just as human as the other zodiacs. Do you see that now?"_

_"Yes... I think I do..."_there was another laugh. A pair of leaves drifted down between them, one perfectly round, the other with holes, and cuts; but they were from the same tree. The breeze intensified momentarily, then vanished all together. In the distance, they heard a faint, but happy and triumphant, roar, and Kyo saw a flash of white on the tops of the trees out of the corner of his eye. It was gone when he tried to look at it fully.

He laughed quietly and wrapped an arm around Touhru's shoulders. "Thanks Spirit." he whispered, looking at the cloudless sky. He thought he heard a faint, 'you're welcome,' but brushed it off as the wind in the trees. _Thanks for everything..._

_"You're gonna go far kid..."_

_**And that's a wrap! Phew... this was a long chapter... but at least this, and the story's over. Oh, and Spirit's letter was actually written in Blackadder ITC, cause that's how she writes. Elegant and old. Tell me what you think! Ja! **_


End file.
